'F9' tops box office for H1, but only two Korean movies in top 10

A scene from “F9” / Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Only two homegrown movies made the top 10 at the local box office over the first six months of the year, while the Hollywood action movie "F9" was the biggest hit here.

"F9," the latest chapter in the "Fast and Furious" series, was the most-watched film in the first half of 2021, drawing over 2.28 million moviegoers at the end of June, according to box office data compiled by the Korean Film Council and released Saturday.

The Japanese animation "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train" finished second with an audience of 2.15 million, followed by Disney's fantasy "Soul" with 2.05 million people.

The live action Disney film "Cruella" attracted 1.53 million to rank fourth, followed by Oscar-winning immigration film "Minari" with 1.13 million moviegoers.

The American horror "The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It," the monster action film "Godzilla vs. King" and the thriller "A Quiet Place: Part II" took the sixth to eighth spots, respectively.

The Korean crime action thriller "Hard Hit" placed ninth with 67,000 attendees, and the local action comedy "Mission: Possible" finished 10th with 447,000.

"Hard Hit" rose to the highest ranking among Korean flicks released over the January-June period, a week after its theatrical launch June 23. "Mission: Possible" was pushed down to second place after remaining on top for nearly four months since its release in February.

The romance "Waiting for Rain" came in third with 398,000 people, followed by the sci-fi action film "Seobok" with 385,000 and the historical biopic "The Book of Fish" with 338,000.

The South Korean film industry has been in the doldrums for more than a year as the protracted COVID-19 pandemic has kept people from going to movie theaters.

The total film audience reached 20 million in the first half of the year, down from 32.1 million moviegoers tallied over the same period last year.

But the downside trend is expected to make a turnaround in the coming months as big-budget movies, including Marvel's "Black Widow," are to hit local screens soon. (Yonhap)